Nutritional diagnosis in citrus using spectral techniques

Abstract

Nutritional assessment in citrus orchards has long relied on destructive foliar analysis—a procedure that is costly, time-consuming, and generates laboratory waste. To address these drawbacks, the present study evaluated the feasibility of Vis-NIR spectroscopy as an alternative approach for predicting foliar macro- and micronutrient concentrations in clementine mandarins. The methodological framework was positivist-quantitative, with an observational analytical cross-sectional design. Spectral readings were collected using a portable CI-710 spectrometer across the 430–1040 nm range, and data were processed via partial least squares regression (PLS-R). The models showing greatest predictive capability were those developed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and boron, with external validation determination coefficients ranging from 0.53 to 0.69. These findings indicate that Vis-NIR spectroscopy holds promise as a rapid, non-destructive diagnostic tool for foliar nutritional status in citrus, with favorable prospects for integration into precision fertilization protocols.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.